Into the wild.

[eskimo]

Not sure if any of you guys will be interested but theres a new film been released any time soon called 'Into The Wild'.
It tells the story of Christopher McCandless, a 22 year old american graduate, who turned his back on everyday life (and rich parents) to fulfil his dream of living of the land and seeking soltitude in the wilderness. He spent nearly 2 years hiking accross America before spending his last 4 months in Alaska.
Unfortunatly due to inexperience and lack of equipment/knowledge, his body was eventually found and it transpired he had starved to death.
Not really a bushcraft story but I just thought it would be worth a mention as I am sure it will be a great film to watch.

Oh yeah, the usual disclaimer.... "I have no connection with the movie, am not an actor or a director". Thanks

 

[Jodie]

Yes, me and my friend Tanya will go along and see that when it comes out. We
saw Elizabeth last night and while we liked the frocks we thought the film was a
bit full of itself

There have been a couple of threads on this film, although they seem to be fairly
well hidden (they didn't ping out when I searched for the film title!) but here's one:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17288

I don't think I've welcomed you yet, so welcome

 

[lottie.lou]

Thanks for pointing this out, its not showing anywhere near my but I'm off to Manchester tomorrow anyway, might as well make a day of it!

 

[African]

Hiya

Saw this the other evening and thought it was great. Echo's many of the things about the world in general I and many others on this forum feel. Takes huge courage to do what he did and really sad to see it come to a sticky end. This is not a main stream movie and is only on Monday to Thursday, I would have liked my kids to see it but they are both younger than 15

Oh and I too have nothing to do with the movie industry and am not a director.

African

 

[Hoodoo]

The book is well-written and I think very honest. The author brought to the book a depth of understanding from his personal experiences that few could match. I look forward to the movie.

 

[Sameold]

I saw the movie last week and thought it very good. It is a poignant story of a damaged young man trying to overcome his past through contact with nature. He very much follows in the footsteps of Thoreau, Jack London et al. The film is beautifully shot and is quite long at over 2 hours, but I was gripped by the story. The acting is brilliant, all the characters he meets seem to be real people even his "monstrous" parents. I'm 43 and it did make me feel a little like grabbing my rucksack and hitting the road My 23 year old step son, who I saw it with, felt the same. So I said "what's stopping you?"

 

[spoonman]

A really good "bush flick" and the first film I really enjoyed for a while.....I agree with the previous comments in that it is a powerfully poignant film and it does make you re-evaluate things a little too, which is only a good thing.

 

[Runs for cake]

I very nearly went down the same route as McCandless and often wonder how things may have turned out if I did. Read the book several years ago and was amazed at the chord it struck with me.
Me and the missus went to see the film on monday , half expecting to be a bit disappointed. I wasn't , at all. An outstanding film in my view and well worth a watch.

 

[BOD]

I...I was gripped by the story. The acting is brilliant, all the characters he meets seem to be real people even his "monstrous" parents. )

Why "monstrous"?

I read the Outside magazine article and I don't recall any suggestion that they were monsters.

He (young McCandless) had access and control of a considerable trust fund and was not dependant on them i remember.

 

[Bhold]

I very nearly went down the same route as McCandless and often wonder how things may have turned out if I did.

I went the same road. In Brazil, 17 years, money only for the outbound fare. Got helped by some hippies that taught me how to craft some stuff to secure some money, how to eat cheap. Broke my arm in a nasty fall a week after arriving, shortly before actually getting to the wild places I wanted to. Had to return home with a low morale, but only after having to count on the generosity of both strangers and family members.

Interesting experience. I still wonder what would have become of me had I not broken my arm and cut the adventure short...
Maybe now that I am "wiser" I will do it again, in a different way.

 

[Hoodoo]

Why "monstrous"?

I read the Outside magazine article and I don't recall any suggestion that they were monsters.

He (young McCandless) had access and control of a considerable trust fund and was not dependant on them i remember.

Well, he did put "monstrous" in quotes so maybe not monstrous really. McCandless, though, certainly thought he had been betrayed by his father and that his father was a hypocrite.

It's kind of interesting how people get into different mindsets. I'm sure there are millions of kids out there who would have like to had McCandless's parents and the good life they provided. If McCandless thought his father was a monster, I can think of a whole bunch of fathers he could have had that might have made him appreciate his father a whole lot more.

But nonetheless, McCandless's thoughts and perceptions, his reasoning, were all real for him. He was a precocious child and was very headstrong. Although he was extremely intelligent, he seemed to lack a bit of common sense. Couple that with his youthful exuberance, his purist mindset, his athletic prowess, and the feeling that you are "bulletproof," and anything can happen. Unfortunately, it went very bad for him. He made just a few mistakes though or otherwise we would not be here having this conversation.

When I was his age, I loaded my backpack, hitched a ride, and never returned home for nearly 3 years. I traveled across the U.S. and Canada, went alone into wilderness areas many, many times (nearly drowned once), lived out of my pack for weeks and sometimes months at a time, worked odd jobs, hopped freight trains, stood in soup lines. Don't regret a single bit of it. I don't think I was ever as reckless as McCandless but nevertheless, I think many folks at that age take risks and feel they will live forever. McCandless just pushed the envelope a lttle too far. I'm guessing that somewhere down the road, if McCandless had survived, he would have accrued enough real world wisdom to appreciate what he had been given enough to forgive his parents for whatever sins he thought they might have.

 

[Doc]

Well, he did put "monstrous" in quotes so maybe not monstrous really. McCandless, though, certainly thought he had been betrayed by his father and that his father was a hypocrite

But nonetheless, McCandless's thoughts and perceptions, his reasoning, were all real for him. He was a precocious child and was very headstrong. Although he was extremely intelligent, he seemed to lack a bit of common sense. Couple that with his youthful exuberance, his purist mindset, his athletic prowess, and the feeling that you are "bulletproof," and anything can happen. I don't think I was ever as reckless as McCandless but nevertheless, I think many folks at that age take risks and feel they will live forever. McCandless just pushed the envelope a lttle too far. I'm guessing that somewhere down the road, if McCandless had survived, he would have accrued enough real world wisdom to appreciate what he had been given enough to forgive his parents for whatever sins he thought they might have.

I've not seen the film yet, but I have read the book and the original magazine article. I'd agree with Hoodoo on all that.

Calvin Rutstrum wrote: 'Experienced men are cautious. Make no mistake about that.'
Of course, the flipside is that the young and inexperienced are not always as cautious as they should be. That's why it costs so much to insure a 20 year old driver.

The story of Chris McCandless certainly touches a chord with some people. I'd guess most of us here empathise with the desire to try and live unsupported in the wilderness, to test ourselves. And also to get away from the consumer culture that makes unimportant things seem important. Its not a new idea. Thoreau explained it better than I can, and he borrowed some of it from classical literature.

CM had already accomplished a fairly intrepid paddling trip, and he seems to have had a lot of confidence in his own abilities. And I'd agree with Krakaeur that he made a pretty good attempt at living off the country.

From what I've read, I don't think he was mentally ill, as some have suggested, and I don't think there is convincing evidence he had a personality disorder either. For children, their relationship with their parents is the most important thing in the world, but as they grow up, have relationships, and plans, often they get a broader perspective.

Seems to me he was a rather introspective but intelligent man, who read widely but perhaps without the critical reasoning you or I would apply to what we read. Certainly he had a dysfunctional relationship with his father - of whom CM had very high expectations, and little sympathy for any human failings. But had he survived his great trip north, I think age and maturity would have addressed these issues in time.

 

[Earlyturtle]

Me and my girlfriend are really looking forward to seeing this film

 

[eskimo]

Thanks for the information everyone. I have my tickets booked for next Tuesday and can't wait. I read the book a while back and was gripped, after reading (even with the tragic ending) I was inspired.
Although I have no trust fund to give away, and unfortunatly have a mortgage so work is a must, I decided to sell my car and spend a lot of my free time travelling.

I know selling a car seems a stupid thing to do if you are about to start traveling, but since doing so I have not looked back. Now getting to where I want to be has become a bigger part of the adventure. For example I went camping for a week in the Lakes recently, and instead of just jumping in the car, putting on the radio and then everything been a blur until arrival, I traveled some of the way by bus and hitched the rest of the way. I met 3 great people who were driving to the Lakes in a battered old van and were kind enough to give me a ride most of the way. We exchanged numbers and 2 days later they joined me for the rest of the trip.

I also now have to make a concerted effort to talk to people, I was so used to just shutting off in the car, I found I never really made new friends on the way. Now I could be sitting next to someone in a bus queue, or on a train and it is the conversation which makes the experience all the more satisfying.

 

[Dunelm]

I would thoroughly recommend John Krakauer's book "Into The Wild", from which the film is adapted.

I think Krakauer gives McCandless a fair crack of the whip - he does portray him as a worthy and upright young man who turned his back on his priveledged background and set off accross the USA and Canada, earning is own living as he went by working jobs that he probably didn't need to do and thus meeting people who he wouldn't otherwise have met but he is also critical - and I think rightly so - of his final failed adventure into the Alaskan wilderness.

Without spoiling the plot McCandless was woefully unprepared both in terms of skills, kit and attitude and got himself into a situation that he couldn't handle and which killed him. His bushcraft and hunting skills were inadequate for the task he set himself and, as Krakauer points out, dying of starvation in a squalid old school bus only a few miles from a road doesn't really count as a "wilderness experience" in Alaskan terms.

For my money what Krakauer does well is set McCandless in the conext of other young romantic Americans who have looked to the wilderness and frontier as a kind of spiritual and physical testing ground - although some of them died as well...

 

[SCOMAN]

I haven't read the book but intend to pick it up next week. The film is fantastic and inspirational although I agree with Dunelm's view on the sad demise. Enjoy the film it's great.

 

[Geo.]

There's been quite a bit written about Chris McCandless.
Read the excellent and somewhat haunting book by Krakauer but haven't seen the movie as yet.
Couple of points of interest that weren't mentioned...
In the movie he is depicted as shooting the rapids in the Grand Canyon. This was not correct. He did kayak the river, but put in below, after the rapids. When queried on this, Penn (film's director) said he put that scene in just to illustrate the rebellious nature of McCandless. Which is a pity I think - If you're going to make a 'true' movie, then don't invent stuff.
McCandless had considered himself trapped at the old bus on account of the risen river that he couldn't cross. This led to his subsequent starvation and death. If he had scouted about half a mile along the river bank from where he was, he would have found a wire bridge crossing the river that would have got him safely out. Also if he'd travelled another apparently easy day's hike along the river bank in the other direction, he would have discovered a rangers cabin that was kept stocked with food supplies.
If he'd carried a map of the area he was in he would have known that and likely still be alive. It surprises me that for all the time he had based himself in that spot, he hadn't scouted out the area to any extent. Particularly up and down the river, which would have been an easy 'navigation fix' for keeping orientated as well as a water supply.
He was totally unprepared as far as food supply and gear, and sadly, would seem to have been out of his depth. A good reminder though that you shouldn't take the wilderness too lightly, or it'll bite you in the bum!

 

[w00dsmoke]

I looked forward to this films release and chose a quiet evening to go with Midgie to watch it. Supertramp was born 6 months before me and I sat and watched the film after having read the book on publication a long time ago. Whatever in life that inspires us and ,motivates us to follow our own path as opposed to someone elses, as long as it is a learning experience and harms no one along the way then I say go forth and do it. This is what this guy did. Its obvious this guy had negative attachment issues and Im convinved these attachment issues led him to lead the lifestyle that he chose and reject his parents values.

I found the film very very sad and disturbing at times, partly because it mirrored some of my experiences as a child and early adulthood of living rough and moving around etc but beyond that my sadness went to him, because regardless of his mistakes, he did try to live his dream in an almost impossible economic system to be able to do so and I really respect him for that. I'm glad he died trying to overcome his difficulties in a bus in the wilderness as opposed to that city shelter he bolted from. I've worked in ahomeles shelter for two years and they are awful places to live in let alone die in. My wife was with me tonight and she was deeply moved by the film and held my hand tight at the end.

I'm glad I made it, and when the film comes out on DVD, I'll buy it and every time I see it, I'll hope that this young guys spirit is in a happy place and that he found peace.

 

[Sameold]

Why "monstrous"?

I read the Outside magazine article and I don't recall any suggestion that they were monsters.

He (young McCandless) had access and control of a considerable trust fund and was not dependant on them i remember.

BOD, maybe I've used to strong a word there. They weren't monsters per se, but it's clear in the film at least, that McCandless was determined to separate himself not only from society but particularly his parents. He didn't contact them in the period between him leaving college and his death.

I wouldn't let my comments prejudice you against the film though. It really is worth a watch for any crafter

P.S. I really liked the music in the film too. Don't know who wrote it...

 

[spoonman]

Don't know who wrote it...

Eddie Vedder contributed an album's worth of songs to the soundtrack for the 2007 film Into the Wild including a cover of Jerry Hannan's "Society" and the Indio song "Hard Sun".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Vedder